Until now the largest and perhaps most conspicuous terrestrial mammals of the planet have not been represented at NP. Hence this contribution of mine though the pictures are nothing really special. They are from a visit to the Kui Buri National Park in the northern part of Peninsular Thailand. Kui Buri National Park covers an area of approx. 1000 km2 and the elephant population is approx. 350 individuals.
This is a bull elephant with tusks. We saw also another one with tusks. Allegedly roughly half of the male elephants develop tusks. Apparently this individual has just taken a mud bath. Elephants enjoy covering their skin with mud which may act as a sunscreen protecting its skin from ultraviolet light.
Tamed, wild elephants were previously commonly seen around tourist areas in Thailand. They are still there, but we are not realising that we should not support the business of taming wild elephants. That is from an animal welfare perspective and a conservation perspective. It is the species Asian Elephant, Elephas maximus, which lives in Thailand – subspecies Elephas maximus indicus, Indian Elephant. In general local farmers do not like elephants because they eat their crops in the fields, mainly at night. Hence elephants are being shot at which makes them very shy. We rarely see wild elephants in Thailand though we may often see their droppings in national parks. However, in the Kui Buri National Park the situation is different. In a young forest raised in connection with the old forest local people have established a service for tourists. Guided tours are arranged on pickup trucks to see wild elephants. Kui Buri is situated 50 km south of Hua Hin from where tourists may go on a day trip with a good chance to see elephants. The local people will get a good income from the ecotourism. That has been made possible because the elephants are not as shy as elsewhere. You will have a very good chance to see wild elephants in Kui Buri. I can recommend such a tour of a couple of hours' duration.